Sheini - Bereishis/Genesis - Parshas Chayei Sarah 23:17-24:9

The verse says, "Va'yokom Sedeh Ephron asher baMachpelah asher lifnei Mamre..."—the field of Ephron was established, which was in the Machpelah, facing Mamre. Up until now, the Torah was talking about the cave of the Machpelah, but here it refers to the field of Ephron that was in the Machpelah. What does it mean that it was "in the Machpelah"? Perhaps the whole area was called Machpelah because of the cave, but the verse says specifically the field of Ephron that was in the Machpelah. This was facing Mamre. Earlier, we learned that Hashem appeared to Avraham in the plains of Mamre, which is also in Chevron. So, the field of Ephron was facing the area of Mamre.

The verse continues: "HaSodeh, VeHaMe'arah asher bo, VeChol HaEitz asher baSodeh, asher bechol gevulo saviv"—the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, within its entire border, all around. Everything that was in that field, called the Machpelah field, was now established and belonged to Avraham.

But what is the meaning of "Va'yokom"? "Va'yokom" literally means "it stood up" or "it was raised." Rashi explains that on a spiritual level, the field was elevated—it went out from the hand of a "hedyet," an ordinary person (Ephron), to the hand of a king, since Avraham is considered like a king. On a simple level, "Va'yokom" means that the field, the cave, and all the trees were established as Avraham's possession, as the next verse will say, "LeAvraham leMikneh"—to Avraham as an acquisition.

Rashi explains on "Va'yokom Sedeh Ephron" that "Tekumah haysa lah"—it had an elevation. The field was raised up, meaning it left the hand of a "hedyet" (an ordinary person, Ephron) and went to the hand of a king (Avraham). On the simple level, the verse is saying that the field, the cave, and all the trees became Avraham's as an acquisition, as the following verse will say.

The verse says, "LeAvraham leMikneh leEinei Bnei Ches, bechol bo'ei sha'ar iro"—to Avraham as a possession, before the eyes of the sons of Ches, in the presence of all who came to the gate of his city. This means that everyone who came to the city gate witnessed the transaction, so it was public and clear that the field now belonged to Avraham. The phrase "bechol bo'ei sha'ar iro" refers to all those who came to the city gate; the actual acquisition took place in front of all the people of the city, just as the negotiations had earlier.

Rashi explains on "bechol bo'ei sha'ar iro" that it means "bekerev kulam, u'bema'amad kulam hiknehu lo"—amongst all of them, in the presence of all of them, he transferred ownership to Avraham. So, the acquisition was done publicly, with everyone present.

The verse says, "Ve'acharei chen kavar Avraham es Sarah ishto el me'arat sedeh haMachpelah al penei Mamre hi Chevron be'eretz Kena'an"—afterwards, Avraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre, which is Chevron, in the land of Canaan. Again, it refers to the field of Machpelah, and specifies its location as facing Mamre, in Chevron, in the land of Canaan.

The verse says, "Va'yokom haSodeh vehaMe'arah asher bo leAvraham le'achuzat kever me'et Bnei Ches"—again, the field and the cave that was in it were established for Avraham as a burial property from the children of Ches. The Torah repeats that the field was established for Avraham. Perhaps we can say the same explanation as before, that the field was spiritually elevated, but the simple meaning is that the field and the cave were acquired by Avraham as a burial plot, purchased from the children of Ches, specifically from Ephron who owned it and sold it to Avraham. The Torah is making it absolutely clear that Avraham truly acquired this property, so there should never be any question about who it belongs to—yet, even today, people still argue about the rights to the Me'arat HaMachpelah.

The verse says, "VeAvraham zaken ba bayamim, vaHashem beirach es Avraham bakol"—Avraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem blessed Avraham with everything. What does "bakol" mean? Rashi says that "bakol" has the same numerical value as "ben" (son). "Ben" is 52 (beis = 2, nun = 50), and "bakol" is beis = 2, chaf = 20, lamed = 30, totaling 52. So, "bakol" hints that Hashem blessed Avraham with a son. Since he now had a son, the next step was to find him a wife. That's why the Torah now tells the story of Avraham arranging a shidduch for Yitzchak.

And Avraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem blessed Avraham with everything. The verse says that Avraham was old, coming in days, meaning he was advanced in age. Hashem blessed Avraham with everything. What does it mean, 'with everything'? Rashi explains that the word Bakol (with everything) has the same numerical value as the word Ben (son). Bakol is beis, chof, lamed—2, 20, and 30—which equals 52, and Ben is nun, beis—50 and 2—which is also 52. So, Hashem blessed Avraham with a son. Since he now had a son, he needed to marry him off to a wife. That's why the verse says Hashem blessed Avraham with everything—meaning, with a son, and now it was time to find him a wife.

Rashi explains on the words 'Hashem blessed Avraham with everything' that Bakol is numerically equivalent to Ben (son). Since Avraham now had a son, he needed to marry him off to a wife. This is why the verse emphasizes that Hashem blessed Avraham with everything—because having a son means it is time to find him a wife.

Avraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over everything he had, 'Please place your hand under my thigh.' The verse refers to the servant as Zekan Beiso, the elder of his house, and Rashi notes that it is not two separate words—it's not 'elder' and 'of his house' as two distinct things, but rather 'the elder of his house' as a single title. Avraham is instructing his servant to place his hand under his thigh as part of the process of making an oath.

Rashi explains that the phrase Zekan Beiso is vocalized as Zekan because it is connected to the following word. It is not two separate words, but rather one phrase meaning 'the elder of his house.' The word is pointed as Zekan to show this connection.

Why did Avraham tell his servant to place his hand under his thigh? Rashi explains that when someone takes an oath, he must hold an object of a mitzvah, such as a Sefer Torah or tefillin. In this case, the mitzvah was the milah (circumcision), which was Avraham's first mitzvah commanded by Hashem. Although Avraham had performed many mitzvos, this was the first one he was directly commanded to do by Hashem. The mitzvah of milah came to Avraham through pain, but it was especially dear to him, and so he had his servant hold onto it when taking the oath.

Avraham said, 'I will administer an oath to you by Hashem, the G-d of the heavens and the G-d of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell.' Avraham is not swearing himself, but rather making his servant swear. He uses the phrase baShem Elokei haShamayim veElokei haAretz—the G-d of the heavens and the G-d of the earth. Rashi points out that at this point, Hashem was known both in the heavens and on earth, because Avraham had publicized His name among people. When Avraham first left his father's house, Hashem was only known in the heavens, not on earth, because people did not recognize Him yet. But now, through Avraham's efforts, Hashem's name was known on earth as well. Avraham first tells his servant what not to do—do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, the people among whom I dwell. Only afterwards does he tell him what he should do.

Avraham continues and tells his servant, 'Rather, you should go to my land and to my birthplace and take a wife for my son Yitzchak from there.' This refers to the area of Aram Naharayim, or Ur Kasdim, where Avraham originally came from. In the earlier parsha, we learned that Terach and Avraham, along with Lot, left Ur Kasdim to go to Aram Naharayim. Avraham instructs his servant to return to his homeland and his birthplace to find a wife for Yitzchak, not from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom he now lives.

The servant said to Avraham, 'Perhaps the woman will not want to go after me to this land. Should I then return your son to the land from which you came?' The servant is asking: If the woman does not want to leave her family and come here, should I bring your son back to your original homeland—back to Ur Kasdim or those places? He is clarifying whether, if the woman refuses to come, he should bring Yitzchak there instead.

Avraham said to his servant, "Be careful, lest you bring my son back there." Avraham is warning his servant very strongly not to bring Yitzchak back to the land he came from. Even if the woman will not want to come, under no circumstances should Yitzchak be taken back there. This is a very clear instruction, and Avraham is emphasizing the importance of this point to his servant.

Hashem, the G-d of the heavens, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'To your seed I will give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there." Here, Avraham is telling his servant that Hashem, who took him from his father's house (which was Charan) and from his birthplace (which was Ur Kasdim), and who made a promise to him—specifically, the promise made at the covenant between the parts—that his descendants would inherit this land, will help him succeed. Avraham assures his servant that Hashem will send an angel to guide him, so he will be able to find a wife for Yitzchak from Avraham's homeland. The wording here is very specific: Avraham refers to Hashem as the G-d of the heavens, and he mentions the promise made to him about his descendants inheriting the land, giving the servant confidence that his mission will be successful.

Rashi explains the phrase "Hashem, the G-d of the heavens, who took me from my father's house"—why does it say only "the G-d of the heavens" here, but earlier, when Avraham made his servant swear, he said, "by Hashem, the G-d of the heavens and the G-d of the earth"? Rashi says that now, Hashem is both the G-d of the heavens and the G-d of the earth, because Avraham has accustomed people to speak of Him and recognize Him. But when Hashem took Avraham from his father's house, He was only the G-d of the heavens, because the people of the world did not recognize Him, and His name was not familiar in the world. Avraham publicized Hashem, so now He is also called the G-d of the earth.

Rashi explains that "from my father's house" refers to Charan. That was the last stop, because Avraham's father stopped there. So when the verse says Hashem took him from his father's house, it means from Charan.

Rashi explains that "from the land of my birth" refers to Ur Kasdim. That is the place where Avraham was originally born, before moving to Charan.

Rashi explains the phrase "who spoke to me"—the word "to me" (li) here means "about me" or "concerning me." For example, in Melachim I 2:4, it says "who spoke about me." Whenever the Torah uses the words "li" (to me), "lo" (to him), or "lahem" (to them) next to the word "diber" (spoke), it is to be understood as "about"—so the Targum translates it as "ali" (about me), "aloi" (about him), or "aleihon" (about them). The word "li" (to me) is not used with "diber" (spoke); instead, it should be "eli" (to me), "elav" (to him), or "aleihem" (to them), and the Targum translates these as "imi" (with me), "imei" (with him), or "imeihon" (with them). But when it comes to the word "amar" (said), then it is correct to use "li," "lo," or "lahem." So, in this context, "diber li" means "spoke about me."

Rashi explains that the phrase "who swore to me" refers to the covenant between the parts—bein habesarim. That is when Hashem made the promise to Avraham, walking between the pieces.

"And if the woman will not wish to go after you, you will be absolved from this oath of mine—just do not bring my son back there." Avraham tells his servant that if the woman refuses to come, then the servant is released from the oath. However, under no circumstances is the servant allowed to bring Yitzchak back to Avraham's homeland. The main thing is that Yitzchak must not return there, even if it means not finding a wife from that place. The emphasis is on not taking Yitzchak back, and if necessary, a wife can be found from among the local families, such as Aner, Eshkol, or Mamre, but Yitzchak himself must not leave the land of Canaan.

Rashi explains the phrase "Venikisa mishvuasi v'go'—v'kach lo isha, mibnos Aner, Eshkol, uMamre" (and you will be absolved from my oath, and take for him a wife from the daughters of Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre). This means that if the woman from Avraham's family will not come with the servant, then he is released from the oath, and Avraham is telling him to take a wife for Yitzchak from the daughters of Aner, Eshkol, or Mamre, who lived nearby in Canaan. The idea is that the first attempt should be to get a wife from Avraham's family, but if that does not work, then he can take from among those who live there, specifically from Aner, Eshkol, or Mamre.

The verse says, "Rak es bni..." (Only my son...), and Rashi explains that the word rak (only) is a limiting term, coming to exclude something. Here, it means that Avraham is saying, "My son will not return." In other words, Yitzchak is not to be taken back to Avraham's homeland under any circumstances. However, Rashi adds, "But Yaakov, my son's son, in the end will go back." This is a hint that although Yitzchak himself will not return to the land of his birth, his son Yaakov will eventually go back there, as happens later in the Torah.

This verse describes how the servant placed his hand under Avraham's thigh, as Avraham had instructed him, and swore to him concerning this matter. The servant, Eliezer, did as Avraham requested: he put his hand under Avraham's thigh, which was a way of taking an oath involving a mitzvah object, since Avraham's bris milah was the first mitzvah commanded to him by Hashem. The oath was that Eliezer would not take a wife for Yitzchak from the daughters of Canaan, but would go to Avraham's family to find a wife, and if that was not possible, only then would he look among those living nearby. The verse emphasizes that the servant swore to Avraham about this specific matter, fulfilling Avraham's instructions exactly.